Bell (From a Locomotive) c. 1937

Editor: This is "Bell (From a Locomotive)," made around 1937 by Harry Mann Waddell using watercolor and charcoal. It’s quite detailed and looks almost… utilitarian. What can you tell me about it? Curator: It's interesting to see a mundane, functional object depicted with such care. We should think about the context: 1937, the tail end of the Depression. The locomotive, a symbol of industrial progress, but also a marker of working-class labor. The artist elevates the everyday through close observation. Editor: So, it’s less about the beauty of the bell and more about the labor it represents? Curator: Precisely. The materiality matters. Think about the process: metal forged, shaped, used, and then represented in charcoal and watercolor. These mediums soften the industrial harshness. Was the artist a worker himself? Or someone observing and reflecting on that labor? Editor: I didn’t consider the choice of materials as a conscious decision commenting on labor. Curator: Consider also that realism in art serves a specific purpose in this period. What did it mean to meticulously render an object like this when abstraction was taking hold? Editor: It does seem like a deliberate choice, perhaps to highlight the importance of tangible, working-class objects and labor during that time. The skill of representing metal and light on a simple object is really beautiful! I'm glad you made me think of how the materials and the time period were really chosen purposefully. Curator: It all points towards the social and economic fabric of the era and highlights how something utilitarian could actually be beautiful.